Hello to all! We’re now moving into May, and it’s remarkable how fast this year seems to be flying by. I want to start by recognizing the work you’re all putting in every day. Whether it’s long hours behind the wheel or managing the day-to-day challenges of being an independent contractor, this industry runs because of your consistency. That’s why it’s so important to me that The Black Car Fund continues to do everything it can for drivers – including expanding the benefits we offer. Before I dive into that, there are some updates I’d like to cover.
Late last month, New York City filed a lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court against the ride-hail app called Empower. The lawsuit alleges that Empower ignored several letters from the TLC ordering it to stop operations. The city now seeks a permanent injunction against Empower that would block the app’s use in New York and deem it illegal. I want to commend Commissioner/Chair Valdivia for taking action against Empower as an early priority of her administration.
Empower has increased in notoriety in recent months, partly due to its legal issues in other cities like Washington, DC, but also due to its growing popularity among passengers. In fact, earlier this month at Midori Valdivia’s initial confirmation hearing, Empower CEO Joshua Sear said that his company now dispatches more than 100,000 rides each week across the five boroughs.
From The Black Car Fund’s perspective, I just want to make sure that drivers understand that Empower is NOT a Member Base of The Fund, so any accident a driver gets involved in while driving for Empower cannot be covered by workers’ compensation. Also, driving for Empower doesn’t count towards the eligibility requirements to remain in our Drivers Benefits program, so you could potentially be looking at losing those benefits, too. I urge you to keep this in mind and remember that New York is the only state where drivers get anything close to the protections and benefits offered by The Black Car Fund and Drivers Benefits. Don’t risk losing them.
Moving on to some city news, Mayor Mandani recently announced his plans to reduce the speed limit to 15 MPH at every eligible school location across the five boroughs, by the end of his first term. There are over 800 school locations that will see their speed limits lowered by the end of this year, with plans to have all 2,300 school locations done by the end of Mayor Mamdani’s first term.
It’s important to note that the Mayor’s administration also stated that the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) will “continue to explore additional opportunities to roll out lower speed limits across the city in the month’s ahead.” I expect to see these lower speed limits rolled out through most, if not all, of the city.
With that out of the way, let’s move onto the good news I alluded to in my opening. I am happy to announce that we launched a new benefit on May 1st. This new benefit gives Eligible Drivers enrolled in Drivers Benefits access to preventative health screenings through Life Line Screening.
Life Line Screening is the leading provider of annual screenings for stroke, heart disease risk, and other chronic illnesses, through fast, non-invasive tests. The screening package in this benefit includes Carotid Artery Disease Screening, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening, Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) Screening, Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening, and Osteoporosis (bone density) Screening. You can also receive a take-home Colorectal Cancer Screening test which you can pick up at your Life Line Screening appointment, complete the test at home, and mail it in at your convenience.
Now, this benefit doesn’t replace your regular physician care, but it can provide early detection and peace of mind. We know from experience that many people who take these types of screenings find something, and I cannot stress enough how important early detection truly is. You can get these screenings once a year with the Life Line Screening benefit, so make sure you are enrolled in Drivers Benefits (https://ny.driversbenefits.org/en), and spread to word to any drivers you know who may not be enrolled.
I’d also like to remind everyone that as of April 1st, drivers who complete our Defensive Driving Course (DDC-6) will now earn $400, up from $300, once every three years. This applies to courses that are completed on or after April 1st, 2026, and please note that your anniversary date does not “reset” from this pay increase. If you’ve recently taken the DDC-6 course, the next time you will be eligible for payment is still three years from the date you last completed it, and up to 100 days before that.
Before I wrap up, I want to give a recap of our Buffalo resource fair that took place on Tue. and Wed., April 14th and 15th. We were back at the North Tonawanda Hall of Fame, speaking with drivers about The Black Car Fund, our Earn While You Learn opportunities, and all the benefits available in our Drivers Benefits Program. We were happy to be back in Western New York, and to speak with all the drivers who attended. We hope that our raffle winners are enjoying their prizes, and that everyone who came is enjoying the exclusive BCF gear they received.
I would also like to thank our partners at Drivers Benefits and the Independent Drivers Guild for their support and attendance. We’re always grateful for our partners who help to elevate these events and ensure they are valuable to the drivers who attend. We’ll be back in North Tonawanda in September, so keep an eye out for the official announcement.
For our downstate drivers, our next resource fair will be on Monday, June 22nd at our Driver Education Center in Long Island City. Please keep an eye on our social media pages, or our linktr.ee (https://linktr.ee/nybcf), so you can save your spot as soon as the RSVP form is officially opened. And as always, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at COM@nybcf.org if you have any questions.Until next time!
